Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-13
PANHANDLE ROBBERIES.
Proof at Hand to Show that Every Man
Arrested is Guilty Some Of the
Thieves Still at LARGE
One of the Robbers When Arrested At.
tending His ChiId's Death-Bed.
Dynamite Cartridges Found.
Main Points of DunIap's COnfession-Each
Crew Worked by Itself-How Green
Hands Were Initiated.
THE SENSATION OF THE DAY.

| ton. NO arrests nave D6en reported SluCe
last plight. Speaking Of the probable CON
victiCa of the men now in jail, Special
Agent Rue said: eve have our evidence
SO complete that we did not make an
arrest until we had sufficient proof to
show that every man was guilty. We ex-
pect to make eight or ten more arrests.
This will swell the total number arrested
to TO-" The officers Of the road believe
that the plunderers were thoroughly or
ganiZed and were carrying on the rob-
berry under the systematic direction Of
shrewd leaders. When d new man
entered the service OF the road, if
he was thought to be the right kind of q
fellow, he was initiated into the gang
with rigid oath binding him TO secrecy.
After he had been initiated, 1t was broadly
limited to him that any wrong move
would result disastrously, as railroading
furnished trst-class opportunities for put
ting men out OF the way Young men
from the country, VINO were just begin
ming TO run on the road, were the easiest
prey. They could soon be persuaded
that there was nothing wrong about
stealing from rich railroad companies.
Being unused to the trick of Old heads
they were easily led on until they were so
deep that they could not get out if they
wanted.
Superintendent Taylor's Office was be-
sieged from early morning by dozens of
men who were in search of employment,
They focked to the depot 50 fast
that line OF them extended
outside of the Office awaiting
their applications for situations, as
freight conductors or bTaKemen, to be
heard. Many OF them were given en-
ployment. The road is now fully
equipped and there is being no delay in
the movement Of freight
Mr.. Rue said the saddeSt case in con
necLiOn with the arrests was that of
man whose child was dying when the
officers knocked at the door of his home
on Sunday night. He was sitting With
his wife by the bedside of his
sick child. He appeared to be
8 man OF more than ordinary intelligence,
and his home had an air of refinement
about it. When the officers told him they
had a warrant for his arrest, he seemed
TO realize at once the disgrace into which
he had fallen, and he broke down COM
pletely.
The capture of J. R. Dunlap at Denni-
son, Ohio, yesterday, particularly pleased
the detectives. As stated last night, he
made a confession in which he
said the stealing had been 60
ing on for months. He said
he could give the names of all the men
Implicated in the Pittsburg division of
the Panhandle, but was afraid to do so,
his language to the officers being, 81
would give you the names of the officers,
but by God they would kill me-" There
was no organization among the robbers,
Dunlap said, and no regular plan of
work. Each crew worked by itself.
1t was the common understand
ing that every man should take
what he could and dispose of it TO
the best advantages. There were a num-
Der Of principals, that name being applied
to those who reaped the largest benefits
from the robberies by giving others point
erS as to what cars contained the most
goods. These persons were generously
r. warded by the less prominent thieves
after the plumber had been disposed of to
the "fences," which Dunlap SAID were
located IN New York, Philadelphia, Den
nis0n, Steubenville, Cincinnati and Pitts
burg, and also in Columbus.
While rumaginiHg through the effects
of one of the ringleadeTs of the Panhan-
Gle robbers this morning Special Officer
Miller discovered a package containin Q
six giant dynamite cartridges sufficient to
blow up the largest building in town.
The discovery created considerable alarm
and the cartridges were handled very
glngeTly. Further examination disclosed
lot of fuse and caps, in fact all the nee
essary pharaphernalia for the sue
cessful firing of the cartridges.
Immediately after fading the dynamite
an investigation was begun. The result,
however, the detectives refuse to make
public, They even declined to give the
name Of the man il whose room the stuff
was found. Officer Miller intimated that
the object of the robber in securing and
storing the dynamite was known, and
that it would make good reading when
the proper time for its disclosure came.
There was consultation this morning
between Assistant Districl Attorney
Pagan and John H. Hampton, attorney
for the Pennsylvania Company, in regard
to the indictment and trial of the prison
ers. The trials will be pushed as speed
ily as possible. 1t is believed that
large number CT the men will
plead guilty on enc or two
charges, and thus escape trial
on an accumulation of charges. A num-
Der of poor fellows whose steslings were
trifing will be discharged and told to
leave this part of the country. The wages
OF the men against whom the charges
have been made have been withheld by
the company on the grounds that the men
owe much more to the company than is due
them. "Some people wonder why we
allowed these depIedations to continue
so long," said Mr.. Hampton this morn
ing. SIT is very easily explained. While
it is simple enough to discover the fact
that freight trains are being robbed, it is
not al all easy to tell just where the rob-
bing is gong on. After locating the partic-
ular part OF the line between Philadelphia
and Chicago and st. Louis where the
crews were stealing, it took long time
to get direct and clear evidence against